He nodded, grinning. “Or a menace to society, as Dean has described her.”

“I stand by that statement,” I said.

“And it’s good to see you too,” he said. “Looks like the dumpster worked out, yeah? I can’t believe how good it looks.”

“It’s really somethin’,” Tabitha said, backpedaling toward Linda’s stoop. “Really somethin’. Dean’s been great. Is great. I mean, all the work he’s done, he’s good at. He’s a good…good friend and worker.”

Rowan clapped me on the shoulder with a look that said I was fucking in for it. “I tell him he’s a good friend and worker all the time.”

She reached behind her, opening the door. Raised her beer bottle at us. “I should let you two get to dinner, then. See you in my dreams. Have sweet dreams is what I meant.”

The door clicked shut. Rowan hefted his bag of groceries as we walked toward my parents’ house. I squinted off into the distance while Rowan kept whistling.

“Looks like Tabitha Tyler wants to make out with your face, dude.”

I grunted. Shoved my hands in my back pockets. “She’s leaving in a week and a half.”

“So?”

I didn’t have a real argument or legitimate reason. None of them could withstand what just happened. What finally having Tabitha in my arms did to my ability to care about anything except more.

“I’m coming around to the not overthinking thing. We’re still just friends though.”

He made a sound of approval. Then said, “Is that how you hug all of your friends?”

“Yeah. No. Wait, why? Was it…bad?”

“You and me?” he said, pointing between our chests. “We don’t hug like that, and I’ve known your ass for two decades. That was like at the end of a movie when one of the characters saves the planet and the love of their life runs over and hugs them while behind them, an asteroid blows up.”

“You’re so full of shit.”

He pulled his phone out. Turned his screen around and tapped at it. “I’m not the only one who sees it.”

It was a text chain between him and his grandmother. The message above was Rowan, asking her if she wanted him to pick up green peppers because there was a sale at the Acme.

The response from Alice, below, read: YOU COULD CUT THE SEXUAL TENSION BETWEEN DEAN AND TABITHA WITH A KNIFE PLEASE GET PEPPERS AND THOSE CRACKERS I LIKE.

I scrubbed a hand down my face with a sigh.

It was looking more likely that I was the one who was so full of shit.

20. Tabitha

Twenty

Tabitha

I paced down the narrow hallway. Spun around and paced all the way back. I tapped the edge of my cell phone against my lower lip, staring at the screen and considering my options.

Then I paced all the way back again.